


Take Me to the Water

by titansatemysoul



Series: Wayward Son, We're By Your Side (Prompt Fill Collection) [13]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Episode Ignis Verse 2, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29123526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titansatemysoul/pseuds/titansatemysoul
Summary: Noctis doesn’t understand why Ignis volunteered to shut down an old generator in the middle of Alstor. Everyone in the meeting was surprised that the King’s first advisor would offer to do such a menial job, let alone outside the freezing post-scourge winter. Then, somehow, Noct was wrangled into coming along, not that it takes much for him to go anywhere Ignis is going to be.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Series: Wayward Son, We're By Your Side (Prompt Fill Collection) [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1134263
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45
Collections: Ignoct New Years Gift Exchange 2020





	Take Me to the Water

**Author's Note:**

> For [SamtheFaerie](https://twitter.com/SamtheFaerie) on Twitter

Noctis doesn’t understand why Ignis volunteered to shut down an old generator in the middle of Alstor. Everyone in the meeting was surprised that the King’s first advisor would offer to do such a menial job, let alone outside the freezing post-scourge winter. Then, somehow, Noct was wrangled into coming along, not that it takes much for him to go anywhere Ignis is going to be.

Though the car provides them a little bubble of warmth, Noctis can’t help but regret his decision to come along, at least a little, as frost begins to creep up the windows as they leave the city. The temperature drops, the little number on the dashboard sinking lower until Noct can’t bear to look and closes his eyes. Of course, he falls asleep right against the glass, cold be damned. Noctis yawns, wincing as he sits himself up when Ignis wakes him, cheek still red where it was pressed to the window.

“What time is it?” he asks, still bleary.

“Not late enough for you to be this tired,” Ignis says as they pull into the Coernix stations parking lot. The station has been repurposed as small outpost, the mini-mart shelves crammed with goods to trade and government distributed aid. Kenny’s is still standing, smoke rising from the vents on the roof as it cranks out meat and other fried delicacies from the hunter’s daily spoils.

“You should head to the caravan,” Ignis says, zipping his jacket up to his chin and bracing for the cold. Noctis shivers as a gust of icy air invades the warm interior of the car before getting out himself. Unlike Ignis, Noctis hasn’t had the last ten years to get used to the drastic climate change, experiencing scourge-winter for the first time. Apparently, this is the warmest year yet, though Noct can’t imagine anyone surviving in anything lower than this.

Alstor has always been a popular lookout area, the main road raised up enough to look out down the hill all the way to the lake on a clear day, the Disc of Cauthess shaping the distant horizon. There’s snow on the ground, a stark white reflecting the dusky orange sky, a thick gathering of coniferous trees clumped throughout the hillside.

“Still quite the view.” Noctis recognizes the footsteps as Ignis approaches.

“The air is clearer, too,” Noctis says. “Not like the city.”

“I do miss that part, if nothing else,” Ignis agrees.

The caravan isn’t much warmer than the outdoors, just cramped space and flimsy walls to protect them from the elements. Ignis makes them instant noodles on the tiny stove, then they sit opposite one another on the old lumpy mattress in the sleeping area, a blanket thrown over their laps.

“So are you going to tell me what we’re doing out here yet?” Noctis asks once he sips the last of his broth. Ignis shakes his head, the end of a noodle splashing soup on his cheek.

“If I tell you anything, it’d ruin the surprise!”

Noctis huffs, bending over the side of the bed to put his cup on the floor. He pulls the blanket up around his neck while Ignis takes the dishes back to the kitchenette.

“This place seems smaller, somehow,” Noctis says when he returns, scooting over so Ignis can climb in beside them.

“Well, this bed was never big enough for two people,” Ignis points out. But it didn’t stop them ten years ago and it certainly doesn’t now, Noct stuffing himself between the wall and Ignis. Neither bothered to bring sleep clothes, still in their heavy pants and long sleeve undershirts as they twine themselves together.

“Tomorrow you’ll tell me?” Noctis asks.

“Of course, bright and early.”

Noctis lets out an exasperated groan while Ignis’s laughter leaks through the caravan walls, the last sound before the lights go out in Alstor Slough.

-

It doesn’t take long for Noct to wake up once Ignis is out of bed. The cold alone is enough to rouse him, even with the layers and blankets they slept with. He accepts a hot coffee from Ignis, too tired and cold to care when it burns his tongue. He cleans up the trailer while Ignis prepares the toolkit Holly lent him stuffing that along with a few other supplies into a large backpack.

The sun is the only warm thing about the outdoors, wind picking up the snow on the ground, flakes melting on Noct’s cheeks as they cross the road and descending the steps towards the slough. There’s ice hidden beneath the snow, both carefully testing each step until they reach more level ground.

It’s not until they’re closer that Noctis can see the makeshift pylons, constructed around the edge of the slough from scavenged parts, the wires hanging precariously above them. Confused, he looks to Ignis, but he just beckons for him to follow.

“There was an outpost here?”

“Something like that,” Ignis answers. They approach the little cabin at the foot of the path, the hunter’s insignia painted on the side to indicate it’s a safe place to rest. The generator is around the side, nearly the height of the building, covered in a thick layer of snow. Ignis brushes off the control panel, pushing a few buttons until the generator roars to life, steam instantly melting the accumulation around the vents.

“I thought we came here to disconnect the generator,” Noctis says as Ignis checks the power levels.

“We are, but I wanted to make sure it’s still functioning before EXINERIS sends a crew out to remove it,” Ignis replies. Then he turns to Noct, green eyes alight with excitement. “The slough has never been that deep. Once we learned the winters would come every year, a hunter realized the entire thing freezes over. He fortified the cabin and helped put up a few pylons to keep it powered along with a few lights.”

“I still don’t get it.”

Ignis is already heading for the shoreline, dropping the duffel on the ground and plopping down beside it. Noctis reaches him just as he removes a pair of ice skates.

“His daughter took figure skating classes in Insomnia,” Ignis says wistfully, pausing a moment to look over the landscape. “It wasn’t much. We came out maybe once, twice a year, with anyone who wanted to go. It was something.”

He has a pair of skates for Noctis, just his size though undoubtedly used. The leather is soft, well worn in and fraying at the seams. Noctis sits down beside Ignis, accepting help when he struggles with the laces while trying to balance on the plastic blade shields. He nearly slips, plastic on snow providing no friction as he steps out of the covers, blades sinking into the frozen ground.

Ignis steps onto the ice as if he wasn’t balancing on a thin metal line, easily sweeping one foot to turn around. Noctis hesitates for a moment, until Ignis offers his hand to steady himself. A lifetime of combat training is rendered meaningless as Noct’s feet slip out from under him, barely held up as he regains his balance.

“You’ll pick it up,” Ignis assures him, though he’s clearly holding back a laugh. “I’ve seen you warp a dozen stories into the air, I think you can manage a few little tumbles. Can I let go?”

Noctis nods, this time turning his skates in as Ignis steps back. Another few ungainly steps, this time Ignis catching him by the forearm.

“It’s different then walking,” Ignis explains, demonstrating in a small circle in front of him. “Every step goes out to the side, not back, as you shift your weight. Then you can let yourself drift.”

The explanation doesn’t exactly help, but it’s easy to mimic what Ignis is doing, his long legs the perfect example to follow even with a few layers of fleece and down trying to cover them up. Eventually they leave the shoreline, Noctis trailing behind Ignis as they reach the center. There’s a thin layer of snow blanketing the ice, their blades carving out winding trails behind them.

It’s going well, until Noct’s skate catches on an uneven piece of ice, sending him tumbling face first with a sharp thud.

“Well, it’s not as bad as when Gladio is slamming me into the ground,” Noctis jokes, shaking loose snow and shavings out of his hair. Ignis has circled back, stopping cleanly on the side of his blade and crouching down with a look of concern.

“I’m fine,” Noctis insists before he can ask, this time standing up unassisted and dusting himself off. They continue across the slough, Noct eventually acclimating to his skates after a few more slips.

“I’ve heard the winters are starting to get warmer,” Ignis muses, shielding his eyes to look towards the sun. “Eventually this might be a thing of the past.”

“There can be skating rinks in the city,” Noctis says, struggling a bit to keep up with Ignis’s longer strides. “We can build those.”

Ignis chuckles, slowing enough to take Noct’s hand.

“That’s a nice thought,” he says quietly, grateful even if they know it won’t be the same.

“It’s still at least 10 degrees below freezing,” Noctis points out. “I think we’re still good for another few years.”

Ignis slows, eventually stopping in the middle of the slough, looking up at the Disc of Cauthess, the meteorite like one giant mass of ice against the winter backdrop. His reverie is interrupted by Noctis, slamming into him when he fails to stop the way Ignis showed him and knocking them both to the ground. This time, neither of them bother getting up, Noctis falling onto his back, black hair fanning out around him. He looks like he’s about to say something else when a loud, thundering, gravely roar interrupts, water rippling beneath them.

Ignis is already on alert, Noctis twisting around just in time to see a pair of catoblepas approaching the opposite shore. Even this far away, they’re enormous, long necks towering nearly as high as the trees. Noctis watches as the ice buckles under their feet like delicate glass, recalling the few times he was nearly crushed in the same way. It’s a fond memory, though he feels a bit of guilt now. Most of the creatures in Lucis are at risk, years of fighting daemons and hunters whittling their numbers down dangerously low. A few thousand gil seems much less important now that there are only a few left.

“They’re pretty cool,” Noctis continues his train of thought out loud, watching one settle on its side, basking in the sun despite the freezing water around it. “When they aren’t trying to kill us.”

“We’re very lucky to see them at all,” Ignis says. “We rarely saw them once the scourge took hold, and hunters rarely report any sightings. Sania doesn’t think there’s enough left to preserve the species.”

“I hope she’s wrong. When they’re out here, everything kind of looks like it was before. I mean, yeah, there’s snow and there’s less of it all, but…all the pieces I remember are here.”

“It’s slowly coming back,” Ignis agrees. “Where it can. Just looking at them in the water is making me cold, though. Shall we head back?”

Ignis helps Noctis to his feet, wrapping one arm around him as they look back one last time. The early morning sunlight bounces off the stark white plains, casting an incandescent sparkle across the snow. It looks like magic, the familiar blue sparks flickering as the sky reflects onto the ground.

“I think Sania is wrong,” Noctis says, pointing across the water. Hidden between the legs of one of the creatures is another, smaller only relative to what appears to be its mother. Neither has ever seen a young one before, standing there in the center of the ice as it emerges from its hiding place to explore the shallow water.

“It seems that way,” is all Ignis can think to say, caught up in the awe of the moment. They watch until caution and cold catch up to them, changing back into their shoes and setting about shutting down the little refuge.

“Thank you for the day,” Noctis tells him later, back in the caravan, their clothes drying in the kitchenette while they’re burrowed under the blankets. He’s sat between Ignis’s legs, leaning against his chest while Ignis plays with his hair. “I like when I get to see the parts of your life that I missed.”

“I like showing you,” Ignis says back. “And I liked seeing you stumble a bit.”

Noctis laughs, sitting up to face him.

“Do you think there are more?” he asks. “More of the baby catoblepas, I mean.”

“Well, if there are enough adults surviving somewhere, I’d say it’s likely,” Ignis says thoughtfully. “Wherever it is they were hiding.”

“They were right to hide, don’t you think? But I hope they come back soon.”

Ignis smiles, reaching out to brush some of the loose bangs off Noct’s face.

“Hope will take you far in this world. I think anything is possible.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy! Thank you for being patient for your pinch-hit <3
> 
> I never thought I'd be writing two ice skating themed fics for the same ship/fandom, but here we are. If you're curious about some brotherhood ignoct wintery cuteness, it's [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12929496)!.


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